UK Crypto CGT 2026-27: £3,000 Allowance, 18% and 24%

Updated 17 October 2026

General information only, not tax advice. We are not HMRC and are not affiliated with it. Check GOV.UK and your platform. Last checked against GOV.UK: 17 October 2026. Anything marked expected should be re-checked; we plan to re-check the CARF pages on 1 December 2026. Examples use made-up figures or GOV.UK's own examples. Do not enter personal identifiers (National Insurance number, UTR, name, date of birth) on this site.

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Short answer: GOV.UK says the Capital Gains Tax tax-free allowance is £3,000. For gains from 6 April 2026, higher and additional rate taxpayers pay 24%; basic rate taxpayers pay 18% on the part of the gain that, added to taxable income after the allowance, fits within the basic rate band (£37,700 for 2026 to 2027) and 24% above it. You can use the allowance against gains charged at the highest rates first.

GOV.UK's own examples

Taxable income £20,000; gains £12,600; minus allowance £3,000 = £9,600; combined £29,600 is below £37,700 → 18% → £1,728.
Taxable income £20,000; gains £52,600; minus £3,000 = £49,600; combined £69,600 is above £37,700 → 18% on £17,700 and 24% on £31,900 → £10,842.

What counts for crypto (GOV.UK page updated 5 October 2026)

Disposals include selling, exchanging for another cryptoasset, using tokens to pay for goods or services, and giving them to someone else (except a spouse, civil partner or charity).
Gains are worked out per transaction; tokens of each type are grouped into "pools" with a pooled cost; same-day and 30-day buying uses share-style rules (the page links HS284).
Allowable costs include transaction fees and a proportion of pooled costs.
If your total gain for the tax year is above the allowance you must report it and pay; Self Assessment returns have a cryptoasset section from 2024 to 2025.
Keep your own records: exchange reports are not tax calculations and do not track pooled costs.

Dates

The 2026 to 2027 tax year runs 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027; the reporting and payment dates are on other GOV.UK pages we didn't read for this guide.

FAQ

Is this advice? No; we reproduce GOV.UK's rules and examples.

What about staking or airdrops? HMRC treats staking rewards outside a trade as miscellaneous income at receipt, and airdrops depend on whether you gave anything in return: see crypto income. Related: same-day and 30-day rules, gifts, reporting and losses.

What we could not verify

Uncertain. These points were not confirmed on the pages read. A re-check of the GOV.UK CARF pages is planned for 1 December 2026.

The Self Assessment and CGT real-time service deadlines for 2026-27 and late-filing penalties (the reporting route is on reporting).
Rates for 2027 to 2028 (not stated).
Which platforms will send requests, and when: not stated by GOV.UK. Do not rely on a specific platform's timetable.
The exact contents of each platform's report beyond "user details and a summary of transactions".
HMRC's online reporting service for platforms is "not live yet" per GOV.UK on 17 October 2026.
Staking, airdrops, mining and lending income are now covered in crypto income (HMRC manual and GOV.UK read 17 October 2026). Detailed DeFi cases (CRYPTO61000 onwards) and whether platforms report reward income under CARF: not verified.
Interaction with EU DAC8 and other countries' rules.
We plan a re-check of the GOV.UK CARF pages on 1 December 2026.

Sources (official)

GOV.UK, Capital Gains Tax allowances and Capital Gains Tax rates — https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax/allowances ; https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax/rates (read 17 October 2026)
GOV.UK (HMRC), Check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets (last updated 5 October 2026) — https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-pay-tax-when-you-sell-cryptoassets (read 17 October 2026)

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